Seat adjuster



Dec. 19, 1961 WEBERMAN SEAT ADJUSTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original FiledJuly 5, 1957 1N VEN TOR. fizz 2.; ZZ/eiazzmzz W%/ hills! a L. WEBERMAN vSEAT ADJUSTER Dec. 19, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 5, 1957I N V E N T0 R. fay/3' Zz fiamwzz 19770/P/VEY Dec. 19, 1961 L. WEBERMANSEAT ADJUSTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed July 5, 1957 INVENTORfizz/L %)ff/Wd/7 HTTOR/VEY L. WEBERMAN SEAT ADJUSTER Dec. 19, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed July 5, 1957 INVENTOR. By @214?Zkaazw'zazz United States Patent F Original application July 5, 1957,Ser. No. 670,345. Divided and this application Mar. 4, 1960, Ser. No.

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-=- -429) This invention relates to a seat adjuster,and more particularly to an automobile seat adjuster having improvedslidable bearing means. This is a division of my copend- 'in'gapplication entitled Seat Adjuster, filed July 5, 1957,

as Serial No. 670,345, now Patent No. 2,971,009, issued January 4, 1961.

One feature of the invention is that it provides an improvedseatadjuster; another feature of the invention is that it provides a seatadjuster having novel bearing means for facilitating'horizontaladjustment; another feature of the invention is that the improvedconstruction permits a lower overall channel height in a seat adjuster;still a further'feature of the invention is that itprovides a stationarylower channel member having a plurality of elongated bearing surfaceportions formedin opposite walls thereof,

anelongated upper movable channel member having complementary elongatedbearing surface portions in opposite walls and a plurality of elongatedbearing slugs of antifriction material, as nylon, between said channelsand in slidable engagement with at least one of the channels;

:and a further'feature of'the invention'isthat the bearing surfaceportions of both channels are arcuate about a given radius'whenviewed'in transverse section and the bear ing slug is formed as acylinder having the same radius and the bearing stud is 'slidablerelative to both channels. Otherfeatures and advantages of the inventionwill be apparent fromthe following descriptionand drawings, in

which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a portion ofavehicleshowing one side of the seat adjuster and showing a portion of the seatmounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal horizontal section taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1, the center portion of the structure betweenthe seat adjustersbeingbroken away to simplify the drawing;

"FIG. 3 is a retail section through the channel members and the latchtaken along the line 33'of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detail section through the channel members and two of thebearing slugs, taken along the line. 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a modified form of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal horizontal section taken along the line 66 ofRIG. 5, the center portion of the structure between the seat adjustersbeing broken away to simplify the drawing;

FIG. 7 is a detail section through the channels and two of the bearingslugs, taken along the line 77 of HG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a detail section taken along the line 88 of FIG. 5.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings,10' is the floor of an automobile upon which the seat adjuster ismounted in the front passenger compartment. As shown in FIG. 2, there isa separate channel assembly at each opposite side of the automobile.Except for details of the latch which have no bearing on this invention,the right and left hand channel assemblies are similar and parts in theright hand assembly which are similar to parts in the left hand assemblyare designated by the same reference character with the addition of aprime The opposite channel assemblies may be in- 3,013,763 Patented Dec.1-9, 1961' terconnected by one or more stabilizer bars (not shown) toprevent the seat from becoming cocked. An elongated stationary lowerchannel 12 is fixedly mounted on the floor 10 by means of a mountingbracket 14 at the front end and a mounting bracket 16 adjacent the rearend. The channel '12 is secured to the mounting brackets by rivets 1-8and the respective brackets are fixedly secured to the floor by bolts20. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lower channel is generally of U-shapein transverse section, having a base 22 and opposite upstandingsideWalls 24, each terminating in anoutwardly turned horizontal flange 26."Each of these flanges has four longitudinally spaced notches 28 asshown best in FIGS. 2 and 4-to provide .bearing surface portions orhearing seats.

An elongated upper movable inverted channel 30 is mounted atop the lowerchannel 12 for slidable movement therealong and a seat 32 is mounted onthe upper channel member. Asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper channelhas a base 34 merging at'each opposite side in a downwardly extendingcurved wall '36, each wall-36 being curved in a predetermined manner,preferably being curved to provide a bearing surface portion. The upperchannel is astride the lower channel with eachcurved wall extendingaround and below the horizontal flange portions 26 of the lower channel.

In order tomount the upperchannel on the lower channel for slidablemovement therealong, there are a plurality of bearing slugs 40 ofanti-friction material, preferably nylon, fixedly mounted at spacedintervals on the lower channel. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, there arefour of these bearing slugsalong each side of each of the lowerchannels, one being fixedly mounted in each of the notched bearingseats. Each of the slugs is formed with a'longitudinal slot 42 along itsinner face for snug reception of the horizontal flange 26 ofthe lowerchannel and each slug fits into-one of the notches cut into theseflanges and is held by the end wallsof the notch against longitudinalmovement relative to the stationary channel. The outer surface of eachslug is curved as shown at 44 in FIG. 4 on the same curvature as theinner surface of the wall 36 of the upper channel so that the slugengages both channel members throughout substantially its entire lengthand has sliding engagement with the upper channel member. Thisconstruction provides lateral stability combined with substantiallyfrictionless isliding movement between the channels, and at the sametime permits a channel construction oflower overall height than is foundin other seat adjusters which utilize steel balls, rollers and the like.jln order to'limitthe range of slidingmovement of the bearing slugsandthe channels relative to each other, there are two stop shoulders '46and'47 bent "from the base 34 of the upper channel. The front stopshoulder 46 may cooperate with a forward stop 48 on the lower channel tolimit sliding movement in one direction and the rear stop 37 maycooperate with a similar rear stop (not shown) on the lower channel tolimit rearward movement.

Latch means are provided to hold the upper channel in a selectedposition on the lower channel. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower channel isformed with a plurality of keeper notches 50. A movable latch elementfor cooperation with these notches is carried on the upper channel. Asshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is a U- shaped bracket 52 mounted onthe upper channel by rivets 54 and a latch 56 is pivotally mounted at 58on this bracket, a torsion spring 60 being employed to bias the latchtoward latching engagement with a selected keeper notch 50. The latch onthe left hand seat adjuster has an integral handle 56a projectingoutwardly therefrom for manual manipulation to release the latch. Nomanual operator is needed for the latch on the right hand seat adjusterbecause there is a connecting rod 62 connected between the two latchesso that operation of the 3 handle 56a releases both latches. At eachside of the seat adjuster there is a spring 64 connected at the forwardend to the floor support and at the rearward end to the upper channel toassist in forward sliding movement of the seat.

Since the anti-friction slugs 40 are of constant thickness throughoutsubstantially their entire length, and since these slugs are in directengagement with both channel members throughout substantially the entirelength of the slugs, much more lateral stability is provided between theupper and lower channels of this seat adjuster than is the case wherethere is merely point contact from a series of balls or rollers.Furthermore, the long line of engagement reduces Wear and, when combinedwith the inherent characteristics of material such as nylon, reduces orentirely eliminates grooving or Brinnelling of the channel.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show a modified form of the invention in which thetransverse dimensional shape of the channels is different as is theshape of the bearing slugs and the means for mounting the bearing slugs.In other respects, the species of FIGS. -8 is generally similar to thespecies of FIGS. 1 through 4 (except for the location of the assistsprings and details of the latch device) and the description of thebasic well known seat adjuster elements will not be repeated. Referencecharacters similar to those used in FIGS. 1 through 4 are used in FIGS.5 through 8 to identify the common parts.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, there is an elongated stationary lowerchannel member 70 riveted to the front and rear floor supports 14 and16, respectively. The channel 70 has a base 72 and opposite walls 74, aportion of each of which is curved inwardly in a predetermined manner,preferably about a given radius, to form bearing surface portions. Theelongated upper movable inverted channel member 76 has a base 78 merginginto downwardly depending walls 80, each of which has a portion curvedoutwardly about the same radius to form elongated bearing surfaceportions. A plurality of bearing slugs 82 of anti-friction material,preferably nylon, are mounted between the channels, each bearing slugbeing in slidable engagement with the bearing surface portion of bothchannel members. As shown best in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bearing slugs arecylindrical in form, having the same curvature as the complementarybearing surface portions of the channel members. The lower channelmember is formed with detents 86 and the upper channel member is formedwith complementary detents 38 for engagement with the slugs to limit therange of sliding movement.

The latch 57 shown in FIG. 8 is substantially identical with the latchshown in FIG. 3 except in the shape of the parts. In FIG. 8, theconnecting rod 62 extends from an ear portion 56b of the latch member.

The seat adjuster of FIGS. 5 through 8 includes all the advantages ofstability, easy sliding movement, low height and absence of grooving orBrinnelling effect that were described in connection with the latch ofFIGS. 1 through 4. Since the cylindrical bearing slugs may slide withreference to both channel members, the sliding movement is subject toless friction and the wear of the parts is halved. As shown in FIGS. 5,6 and 8, the assist spring 64 are carried in the channels, beingconnected at the front end to the lower channel and at the rear end tothe upper channel.

While I have shown and described two embodiments of my invention, it iscapable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the constructionand arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A seat adjuster comprising an elongated stationary lower channelmember having opposite upstanding walls, each formed with a plurality ofelongated bearing surface portions at least part of which are arcuateabout a given radius when viewed in transverse section, means fixedlymounting said lower channel member on a floor support, and elongatedupper movable inverted channel member atop said lower channel member andhaving opposite walls extending downwardly in spaced relation to saidupstanding walls, each wall of the upper channel being formed withcomplementary elongated reversely facing bearing surface portions atleast part of which are arcuate about said radius, means for mounting aseat on said upper channel member, and a plurality of cylindricalbearing slugs of anti-friction material mounted between said channels inslidable engagement with the bearing surface portions of both channelmembers, each of said bearing surface portions on the respective lowerand upper channel members engaging an opposite side of the slug toprovide lateral stability between the lower and upper channel members.

2. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 1, wherein said bearingslugs have the same radius as said bearing surface portions, and whereinsaid channel members have detents located at opposite ends of eachbearing slug and spaced apart a distance greater than the length of saidbearing slug to limit the range of sliding movement of the bearing slug.

Wilmer Aug. 21, 1956 Gilson June 7, 1960

